A wildfire outside Yosemite National Park more than tripled in size Thursday, prompting officers to warn residents in a gated community to evacuate their homes and leading scores of tourists to leave the area during peak season.

YOU ARE WATCHING KCRA 3, WHERE THE NEWS COMES FIRST. NEW INFORMATION ABOUT THE WILDFIRE BURNING IN TUOLUMNE COUNTY. A STATE OF EMERGENCY IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR THE COUNTY. THE FIRE CONTINUES TO GROW AND POSE A THREAT TO MORE PEOPLE AND MORE HOMES. THE FIRE HAS BURNED NEARLY 54,000 ACRES. CONTAINMENT IS JUST TWO PERCENT. HIGHWAY 120 REMAINS CLOSED. THE GROWING THREAT FROM THIS FIRE IS ONE OF THE REASONS GOVERNOR JERRY BROWN DECLARED A STATE OF EMERGENCY. THIS FIRE IS HAVING A WIDESPREAD IMPACT. THIS IS A LIVE LOOK AT THE FIRE FROM LIVECOPTER3. YOU CAN SEE SMOKE CHOKING THE BASE. THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR HOMES. WE START WITH DAVID BIENICK. TODAY WAS NOT A GOOD DAY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THIS FIRE. YOU CAN SEE TWO COLUMNS OF SMOKE RISING FROM OPPOSITE ENDS OF THIS FIRE. IT LOOKS LIKE SIMULTANEOUS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS HAPPENING. ONE FIREFIGHTER DESCRIBED THIS AS A MONSTER WITH A MIND OF ITS OWN. WITH HOSES AND HAND, FIREFIGHTERS TAKE A STAND AGAINST THE FIRE ALONG HIGHWAY 120 ABOUT 30 MILES OUTSIDE OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. FIVE DAYS AFTER IT STARTED, THE FIRE HAS ALREADY JUMPED BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THIS ROAD SEVERAL TIMES. THIS IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST LINES OF DEFENSE AGAINST A FIRE THAT IS GROWING IN ALL DIRECTIONS. HOW ARE THE WINS? SHIFTY. VERY SHIFTY. CHOKING SMOKE SURROUNDS THE FIREFIGHTERS. IT TURNS THE SUN ABOVE BLOOD RED. I DO NOT WANT IT TO TORCH IN THE TREES. SUDDENLY, THE WIND PICKS UP. SPARKS START TO FLY. SOME OF IT ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD. WITHIN SECONDS, FLAMES WERE ALL AROUND. THE FIRE HAS JUMPED HIGHWAY 120 AND IS ON THE NORTH SIDE. THE FIREFIGHTERS QUICKLY RAMP UP THEIR HOSES AND RETREAT ACT DOWN THE ROAD AS THE FIRE ROARS INTO THE TREETOPS. AT LEAST IN THIS ONE BATTLE, FIREFIGHTERS HAVE LOST. BECAUSE IT IS ON THE OTHER SIDE, WE WILL DEAL WITH IT. MORE FIREFIGHTERS ARE ARRIVING ALL THE TIME. WE HAVE SEEN FIREFIGHTERS FROM AS FAR AWAY AS COLORADO. WE FOLLOWED THOSE FIREFIGHTERS WHO LOST THE BATTLE ON HIGHWAY 120 AS THEY TOOK THE FIGHT INTO THE WOODS. WE WILL SHOW YOU TONIGHT AT 6:00.

Thousands of California acres are ablaze as firefighters battle at least 21 wildfires throughout the state, but while many of those fires are small or mostly contained, the wind and heat that are spreading the Rocky Fire in Northern California -- and...